Crimson Clouds Redux
by Dolphin River
Summary: Rewrite, AU, genderswitch : Missing for over a decade, questions arise when Naruto is found... fem!Naruto, NOT SasuNaru


_A/N:__ Alright, here's the first chapter of the rewrite for Crimson Clouds. This is where I would have taken the story eventually, had I not written myself into a corner on the original. I decided to start later in the plot since most of the earlier stuff was unnecessary._

_**Warnings:** As usual, **genderswitch**. More may or may not come later._

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, which is affiliated to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

_She coughed, blood bubbling up her throat as the right side of her chest turned cold from electrical burns. Her muscles twitched, only her feeble control preventing her from falling into paroxysms, and she could feel her life's blood seeping from the wound. Her chakra control was failing as she stood on top of the water and she felt herself sinking._

_Choking out a low laugh, she grinned sardonically at the other, and just before she sank into the cold depths, said, "Your brother was right…"_

_"…you _are_ a fool."_Red eyes watched passively from the shadows of the trees, mind racing as he saw the blonde make the trek down to the river, using buckets to carry water back up to the temple for necessities. She'd been missing for years, many believing her dead, but he had not given up and it seemed his perseverance had paid off. Itachi had found her.

* * *

As soon as she reached the top, she again began to make her way down the steep steps, this time with a load of dirty laundry to wash in the frigid mountain waters. Halfway down, the cry of 'Yume-chan!' caught her attention, and she stopped to answer. As the object of his scrutiny carried on a conversation with an older, dark haired woman, Itachi's mind ran through possible scenarios, each one trying to determine the reason why she had not returned to her village, if she was as alive and well as she seemed.

The only way he could possibly know, however, was to get close; the risks of her running when she saw him were high, though, and if what he knew about this place was true, then it would be difficult to catch her. Regardless, however, it seemed that there was no other choice- he would have to get closer to know.

Itachi backtracked through the forest to the road, and stepped onto it, following it back to the temple, to make it appear as though he had just arrived. The path passed by where she knelt by the river, and he made a point of scuffing his shoes against the ground, to alert her to his presence. As predicted, she turned at the noise, gazing up at his face.

Her face paled rapidly, and he primed himself to chase her if she did bolt.

"Excuse me, miss," he said, "but do you know of a place to stay? I've been on the road for a long time, and somewhere to rest would be quite nice."

She blinked, staring up at him in confusion, before realizing she was being rude. Standing quickly, she apologized. "Forgive me_,_" she said.In a few minutes, she picked up all of the clothes she had washed, dumping them back in the basket and balancing the basket on top of her head. She dipped a quick bow, saying, "It's been a while since we've last had visitors, but you may stay at the temple for as long as you need. Follow me, please."

Still, there was no recognition of him in her eyes.

They walked in silence up the stairs, and Itachi took the chance to see the changes the years had wrought in her. She had done well, it seemed; her chubby tomboy looks as a girl melting away to leave behind a beautiful, well-formed woman. The simple _yukata_ she wore belied the strength he could sense lying hidden in her form, and her long gold hair was braided down her back. The only indicators that she was who he sought were the familiar marks on her cheeks.

The trip up was slow, she was no doubt taking her time due to the load she carried, and so he decided to break the silence.

"It seems rather lonely up here," Itachi remarked quietly, and she glanced at him quickly, a small warm smile on her face. He found this unusual.

"It is, sometimes- especially during the winter." she conceded, then added, "I usually find it rather relaxing."

"Is it?"

"Yes." Her eyes flickered toward his hitai-ate, and she said, "Guests are very rare, but when they come, they are usually shinobi. Regardless as to which village they come from, or even whether they are nuke-nin, all shinobi are welcome here as long as they obey our rules."

"Rules?" He turned his gaze more directly upon her.

She took the hint that he wanted her to elaborate more, and continued. "This temple is sacred neutral ground. Fighting is forbidden, and if you should fight, you will be asked to leave immediately. If you kill someone on our grounds, regardless of reason, you will never be allowed here again. You are expected to respect each other's and our own privacy, harassment of any type will not be tolerated. We will give you your own set of rooms, and because we know how reclusive shinobi tend to be, you will be expected to keep them clean yourself; our policy is to never enter an occupied room, for whatever reason.

"Depending on how long you stay, should you need something, you may ask one of the residents and we will provide it for you." She smiled cheerfully and paused on the stairs pointing upwards to a single red _torii_. "Also, I will warn you that, as soon as you pass that gate, you will not be able to use your chakra. There is a special ley-line under the temple that suppresses chakra and nobody is able to use it, so you will not be able to perform jutsu or other acts that need chakra. This helps us keep visiting shinobi from fighting."

Itachi hummed a little in the back of his throat, and then followed her as she started back up toward the temple. They walked in silence a bit longer, and indeed, as soon as he passed the gate, his chakra core felt like it had been smothered in a warm and fuzzy, if impenetrable, blanket. She turned to looked at him then, and paled and stumbled as she saw his eyes fade to their natural black.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked curiously, as this was the second time she'd blanched at the sight of him.

"It's nothing... It's just-" she looked at him and bit her lip, "This is probably going to sound a bit rude, but- your eyes. They seem very familiar. I feel as though I have seen them before."

"Oh? Where?" If she did not remember him, as he thought was the case, then he was curious where she had seen his eyes.

Her eyes went hazy and she frowned, looking off into the distance, and she replied in a low whisper, "In my nightmares..."

She fell silent after that.

They parted at the top, and just as she was about to walk off, he asked, "My name is Itachi, what is yours?"

"Yume." She replied, and went to hang the laundry up to dry.

Itachi watched her leave, musing to himself. He had managed to find her, the one person who was sought by the entire Elemental Countries: Uzumaki Naruto.

And she didn't even remember her own name.

* * *

He wrinkled his nose as he entered the dingy, backwater _sake-ya_, the pungent stench of smoke and cheap sex assaulting his sensitive sense of smell. Normally, such a place would not even have garnered his attention; the money he earned through mercenary work was more than enough to pay for a higher class establishment if he so chose.

However, a little birdie had told him that a notorious old hermit was to be here, and he had a bone to pick.

Settling in a dark corner, hat pulled low, he ignored the licentious looks sent his way from patrons and staff alike, giving the waitress a condescending look when she came to take his order; he had no interest in what they offered. He sat back to wait, knowing that it would be a while.

It was a few hours later that the one he was waiting for entered.

He watched the old man tromp resignedly to the bar, ordering a bottle of _sake_ and dumping a few measly coins on the counter. As the other turned to look around for a place to sit, he sat up a little straighter to catch the man's attention, then beckoned him over. The old man made his way carefully over to the dark table, his shinobi training telling him that the other was dangerous but his curiosity was not silent either.

"Well, can't say that this is the company I expected when coming in here," the white-haired man commented, slumping into his seat with a mock sigh of weariness. His posture was relaxed, but his sharp black eyes bore into the younger man.

"Ah," he replied, "but when one shows up unexpectedly, it is usually because they have something to tell the one which they have sought out."

"Look, why don't you cut the crap and tell me why the hell you're bothering me?" Jiraiya finally snapped, with a disdainful snort at the quality of the sake.

"Very well." Golden eyes glittered mischievously under a fringe of blood colored hair. "I came to tell you she's almost ready."

"'She?'" the Sannin drawled. "You're going to have to be more specific- in case you didn't know, half the population can be classified as 'she'."

"Forgive me." The tone caused the older man to bristle, knowing he was being mocked by the other. "By 'she' I meant 'Naruto'."

Jiraiya froze in surprise, his eyes narrowing on his unknown companion. "Who _are_ you?" he asked, voice low and threatening.

A row of razor sharp teeth were shown off in a smirk as the other said, "Why, I would have thought you'd recognize me!" His voice lowered in fake thoughtfulness as he brought one hand up to inspect casually. "Of course, this form isn't my most natural or well known. A pity."

Jiraiya watched as the other glance at him slyly, and said, "Well! Time to go, old man!" In a flash of _very_ familiar chakra, the young man was gone.

A dark chill ran down the old man's spine as he whispered, "Kyuubi…"


End file.
